Melson Society

Ingram Library’s Penelope Melson Society, founded in 2008, supports the library and
assists in bringing culturally enriching programs to the university and regional community.

Through nationally-acclaimed exhibits, literary events, lectures, performances and
information access education, the Melson Society enhances university program opportunities
and helps share the resources of an academic library with the surrounding community.

These activities support the mission of the Society:

• To foster closer relations between the library and the students, faculty, staff,
and alumni of the university, and between the library and the surrounding community.• To develop a greater realization of the importance of the library to the future
development of the university and the community• To encourage gifts to support the library• To sponsor programs designed to the cultural life of the community

In 1908, Fourth District A&M School principal John Holland Melson and his wife, Penelope
(Nep) Stevens Melson, hosted a shower to obtain “A Cloudburst of Books” for the newly
formed institution. The 325 volumes donated by local citizens formed the school’s
first library and Mrs. Melson volunteered as its first librarian. Over one hundred
years later, the library has blossomed into a dynamic research facility. The Penelope
Melson Society supports Ingram Library’s commitment to provide a place where the university
and the community can come together and feel at home in a world of ideas.

About Penelope Melson

Ingram Library’s Penelope Melson Society was founded January 27, 2008 to mark the
centennial of the library established through the efforts of Penelope and John Holland
Melson. In 1906 the Georgia legislature passed the Perry Act, supporting the development
of an agricultural and mechanical school in each of Georgia’s eleven congressional
districts. Thanks to pledges of support from citizens and local government Carrollton
was chosen as the site for the Fourth District Agricultural & Mechanical School.

Penelope ‘Nep’ Stevens was born in Buena Vista, Georgia October 24, 1879, to Hampton
Stevens and Adaline Baker. She married John Holland Melson July 8, 1900 in Buena Vista,
where both held teaching positions at Buena Vista High School. Professor Melson, a
graduate of Mercer University, was appointed principal of the Fourth District A&M
School in March 1907. Professor and Mrs. Melson, their six year old son Holland, infant
daughter Martha, and Mrs. Melson’s young brother Rabun Cox Stevens, moved to Carrollton
December 6, 1907, taking up residence in the dormitory, one of two buildings then
under construction. While they resided in Carrollton, the Melsons had two sons, Edwin
Stevens, 1910-1912, and Frank Baker, born in 1914.

On January 29, 1908, Professor Melson invited local citizens to shower the institution
with “A Cloudburst of Books.” The community turned out for an afternoon of musical
entertainment and welcome by the students and faculty. Penelope Stevens Melson joined
her husband in hosting the event, which secured 325 books and bound journals that
formed the school’s first library. Mrs. Melson organized the collection, first in
a closet in the administration building, and later in a converted classroom. Under
her supervision the collection grew, and students paid a fee to allow the library
to subscribe to current periodicals and newspapers. The Melsons left the institution
in 1920, and Irvine Sullivan Ingram was appointed principal. The Fourth District A&M
School became West Georgia College in 1933. In 1980, the West Georgia College Library
was named in honor of Dr. Ingram.

After serving as the volunteer librarian for the Fourth District A&M School, Penelope
Melson continued her community involvement when the family moved to Hogansville, Georgia,
where she operated the Calumet Center of Callaway Mills. She died April 20, 1969.

Bibliography

Bonner, James C.; Myron W. House; and James W. Mathews, From A&M to State University: A History of the State University of West Georgia. Carrollton: State University of West Georgia Foundation, 1998.

Cobb, Rena. A History of Marion County, Georgia, Motherland of Many. Wolfe Publishing, 1997.

Heard County Historical Society. History of Heard County, Georgia 1830-1990. Curtis Media, 1991.

Founders

Ingram Library and the University of West Georgia are grateful to those who assisted
in founding the Penelope Melson Society and in guiding its development.

Steering Committee 2007

Dr. Tom Carrere

Don Chalfant

Dr. Fran Chalfant

Helen Chambers

Julie Dobbs

Suzanne Durham

E. Lorene Flanders

Diane Fulkerson

Shanna Freeman

Sharlet George

Bart Gillespie

Victoria Gunther

Myron House

Dr. Andy Leavitt

Lisa Ledbetter

Angela Mehaffey

Vicki Morris

Dorothy Pittman

Dr. Anne Richards

Jan Ruskell

Dr. Mel Steely

Roni Tewksbury

Dr. Tom Carrere

Don Chalfant

Dr. Fran Chalfant

Helen Chambers

Julie Dobbs

Suzanne Durham

E. Lorene Flanders

Diane Fulkerson

Shanna Freeman

Sharlet George

Bart Gillespie

Victoria Gunther

Myron House

Dr. Andy Leavitt

Lisa Ledbetter

Angela Mehaffey

Vicki Morris

Dorothy Pittman

Dr. Anne Richards

Jan Ruskell

Dr. Mel Steely

Roni Tewksbury

Holland Ware, grandson of John Holland and Penelope Stevens Melson, provided the tinted
photograph of Penelope ‘Nep’ Stevens Melson that serves as the Society’s logo, and
the wedding portrait of the Melsons used by the Society in the library’s 2008 Centennial
exhibit and in subsequent publications.

Terry Kay, West Georgia College Class of 1957, granted permission for use of the quote
about libraries from The Book of Marie, A Novel (Mercer University Press, 2007) featured
in the Society’s original membership brochure, published in 2008 and subsequent publications.

Barbara Stevens Owston, niece of Penelope Stevens Melson, provided the quote about
her Aunt ‘Nep’ used in the Society’s second membership brochure, published in 2010.

Office of Development and Alumni Relations RepresentativeJames Janis and Bill Norris

PresidentDr. John Ferling

Vice PresidentDr. Tom Carrere

Past PresidentMichelle Morgan

Secretary / TreasurerJulie Dobbs

Faculty RepresentativeGail Reid

Community RepresentativeSue Medeiros

Student RepresentativeBrittiny Prenell

Alumni RepresentativeKenya Elder

Dean of LibrariesE. Lorene Flanders

Office of Development and Alumni Relations RepresentativeJames Janis and Bill Norris

Board of Directors 2011-2012

PresidentDr. John Ferling

Vice PresidentDr. Tom Carrere

Past PresidentMichelle Morgan

Secretary / TreasurerJulie Dobbs

Faculty RepresentativeGail Reid

Community RepresentativeSue Medeiros

Student RepresentativeAbla Soglo

Alumni RepresentativeRobin Collins

Dean of LibrariesE. Lorene Flanders

Office of Development and Alumni Relations RepresentativeBill Norris

PresidentDr. John Ferling

Vice PresidentDr. Tom Carrere

Past PresidentMichelle Morgan

Secretary / TreasurerJulie Dobbs

Faculty RepresentativeGail Reid

Community RepresentativeSue Medeiros

Student RepresentativeAbla Soglo

Alumni RepresentativeRobin Collins

Dean of LibrariesE. Lorene Flanders

Office of Development and Alumni Relations RepresentativeBill Norris

Board of Directors 2012-2013

PresidentDr. John Ferling

Vice PresidentDr. Tom Carrere

Past PresidentMichelle Morgan

Secretary / TreasurerJulie Dobbs

Faculty RepresentativeGail Reid

Community RepresentativeSue Medeiros

Student RepresentativeJulianna Carter

Alumni RepresentativeRobin Moore Collins

Dean of LibrariesE. Lorene Flanders

Office of Development and Alumni Relations RepresentativeBill Norris

PresidentDr. John Ferling

Vice PresidentDr. Tom Carrere

Past PresidentMichelle Morgan

Secretary / TreasurerJulie Dobbs

Faculty RepresentativeGail Reid

Community RepresentativeSue Medeiros

Student RepresentativeJulianna Carter

Alumni RepresentativeRobin Moore Collins

Dean of LibrariesE. Lorene Flanders

Office of Development and Alumni Relations RepresentativeBill Norris

History of Ingram Library

History of Ingram Library

West Georgia's library began in January 1908 when Professor and Mrs. J.H. Melson hosted
an afternoon event inviting the community to provide the newly-formed Fourth District
Agricultural & Mechanical School with a "Cloudburst of Books." Three hundred twenty-five
books were donated and Mrs. Melson organized the volumes in a converted linen closet
in the Administration building. She later secured a classroom for use as a library.
Ingram Library’s Penelope Melson Society, a friends group, was founded in 2008 in
honor of the library’s centennial, and in recognition of Penelope Stevens Melson’s
voluntary efforts to establish and manage the institution’s first library.

By the 1930s the library collection had over a thousand volumes. In 1933, the newly-formed
Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia granted junior college status
to the school. President Irvine Sullivan Ingram appointed Annie Belle Weaver, a professional
librarian trained at Emory University, to develop a library to support the institution's
new mission. At the time, West Georgia College had 200 students.

In the fall of 1936, Miss Weaver received blueprints for a new library building. Construction
was funded through the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA). Construction on
the library began in October of 1936 and was completed in February of 1937. Though
the WPA provided no funds for shelving and furnishings, the empty library building
was opened to great fanfare. Sanford Library was central to West Georgia's first accreditation
by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. In 1940 the Julius Rosenwald
Fund gave $20,000 for an addition to Sanford Library, boosting its seating capacity
to 130 and providing shelving space for 15,000 books.

Enrollment grew dramatically during the 1960s. The modern Academic Center, composed
of four air conditioned buildings including a new library, was dedicated in 1968.
Upon Miss Weaver’s retirement, Robert Simmons was named Library Director. He served
until 1978, when Charles E. Beard was appointed Director of Libraries. The library
was enlarged in 1980 and named for Dr. Irvine Sullivan Ingram. Special Collections
was named in honor of Annie Belle Weaver. Ingram Library moved into the electronic
age in the 1980s and 1990s with its first automated library catalog and the birth
of GALILEO, Georgia Library Learning Online.

In 1983, Congressman Newt Gingrich, later Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives,
agreed to deposit his papers and political memorabilia at the University. The collections
of Georgia's Political Heritage Program, a program established by Dr. Melvin T. Steely,
Professor of History, with the assistance of Dr. Ted Fitz-Simons and Dr. Don Wagner,
are housed in the library's Special Collections, and include the papers and office
contents of former Georgia House Speaker Thomas B. Murphy. Other notable collections
include those of Congressmen Bob Barr and Mac Collins. Georgia Senator Bill Hamrick
donated his papers in 2007, adding to the numerous collections associated with political
leaders from the West Georgia region. The Georgia Holocaust Commission's Thomas B.
Murphy Teacher Training & Resource Center opened on the second floor of Ingram Library
in 2001, the only center of its kind housed within the library of a state institution
of higher education.

The 2003 State University of West Georgia Campus Master Plan identified the need for
additional library space to support the growth of the institution, and its move to
university status. Director of University Libraries Charles E. Beard chaired the Campus
Master Plan committee. Mr. Beard retired in 2004. E. Lorene Flanders was appointed
Director of University Libraries in 2005, and named Dean of Libraries in 2010. In
2007 Sizemore Group, AIA of Atlanta developed a Strategic Program for the renovation
and expansion of Ingram Library. During the 2008 Georgia State Legislative Session,
$8 million was appropriated in the 2009 state budget to fund the renovation of the
library as a tribute to the late Speaker Murphy. Houser Walker Architecture of Atlanta
served as architects. Parrish Construction of Perry, Georgia, acted as contractors
on the renovation project, which was completed in 2011.

Ingram Library Today

The Thomas B. Murphy Reading Room and State Capitol Office Replication, dedicated
April 19, 2012, is located on the ground floor of Ingram Library. The Reading Room
contains interpretative exhibits tracing Speaker Murphy's life and political career.
The exhibits are aligned with Georgia Performance Standards for the study of Georgia
history. The floors of the Reading Room are laid with Cherokee marble, the material
used in the Georgia Capitol, and the room overlooks the Townsend Study Garden, located
on the east side of the library. The garden was established in honor of the institution’s
fifth president, Dr. Maurice Townsend, following his death in 1993. Dr. Townsend’s
first major construction project was the 1980 expansion of the library. He donated
some 7,000 volumes from his personal collection to the library during the course of
his presidency. The Townsend Garden was rebuilt in 2012 with plans developed by the
Jaeger Company. The Annie Belle Weaver Special Collections, the Center for Public
History, the Thomas B. Murphy Center for Public Service, and Georgia's Political Heritage
Program are located adjacent to the Murphy Office as part of the university's Center
for Civic Engagement.

The library's main floor features flexible study environments, help desks, computer
stations, and areas for programs and exhibits. The library’s reference, new books,
map, and U.S. government documents collections are housed on the main floor. The library’s
main entrance faces Back Campus Drive, and an additional entrance through Starbucks
faces the UWG Campus Center and Love Valley. The bust of Georgia House Speaker Thomas
B. Murphy by sculptor Michael D. Jernigan stands in the main entrance lobby. It was
transferred to the university in 2012 from the Capitol Education Center. The bust
was commissioned by the Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals, and unveiled at the
State Capitol in 2000 in a ceremony attended by Governor Roy Barnes and Lt. Governor
Mark Taylor. Ingram Library houses a collection of student and faculty art, including
“The Prophet,” a bronze by Gary Coulter, presented by the Class of 1968. A bowl by
renowned artist Phillip Moulthrop, Class of 1969, which Mr. Moulthrop donated to the
College of Arts & Humanities in 2012, is also displayed on the main floor.

The library’s second floor contains study rooms, circulating collections, the Assistive
Technology Lab, administered by UWG Disability Services, the Thomas B. Murphy Holocaust
Teacher Training & Resource Center, administered by the Georgia Commission on the
Holocaust, a conference room, and the office of the Dean and Library Administration.
The Dean’s Conference Room contains the original conference table from the office
of the Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives. It was built for Georgia House
Speaker George L. Smith, who assumed the office in 1959, when he was appointed by
Governor Earl Vandiver. He served in that capacity until 1962. George L. Smith fought
for the independence of the House from the Executive Branch, and was elected speaker
by his fellow members of the House in 1967. He served as Georgia House Speaker until
his death in 1973. Speaker Tom Murphy also used the table during his tenure as Speaker
1974-2002.

The library’s third floor, designated for quiet study, contains classrooms, computer
workstations, and the offices of the library’s Instructional Services unit. “Sporangium
Disseminating Spores,” a large ceramic installation by Cameron Covert and Bruce Bobick,
was completed in 1980 and installed on the library’s main floor. Removed and stored
during the 2011 renovation, “Sporangium Disseminating Spores” is slated to be re-installed
on the third floor of the library.